Recently, along with enhancement of life standard for people, air conditioners have become common electrical appliances.
When an air conditioner is in use for some time, a large amount of dusts will accumulate at the filter net or the heat-radiating fins, and condensed water will also infest in the air conditioner. The malodor will be generated, especially when air conditioner is not used for a period of time. Some people may soon feel dizzy or even nauseate and vomit after staying in an air-conditioned room.
Therefore, bacteria and mildew will circulate indoors along with hot and cold air to reduce the working efficiency of the air conditioner, increase the power consumption, and even contaminate indoor air. Therefore, how to clean and sterilize air conditioners effectively and timely becomes an urgent problem to be solved.
In addition to the filter net, an ultraviolet (UV) lamp tube is added in the present air conditioner. The UV lamp tube has sterilizing function, and can also restore the function of a photo catalyst net. However, because the UV lamp tube is a cathode glass lamp tube easily breakable to harm people, it is usually sheathed by a tetrachloroethylene tube for protection, hence having a higher cost. Moreover, because it contains mercury, the problem of environmental pollution may arise. As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional sterilizing device of air conditioner is formed by series connecting a voltage regulation IC 1a with several light-emitting diodes 2a. The light-emitting diodes 2a are placed between a filter net 3a and a photo catalyst net 4a. Because the light-emitting diodes 2a are placed between the filter net 3a and the photo catalyst net 4a, a holder (not shown) is required for the photo catalyst net 4a, hence complicating the structure. Moreover, when one of the light-emitting diode 2a malfunctions, the whole function is affected.
Besides, along with aggravation of air pollution, air filter nets have been widely used in air conditioners, air cleaners, and exhaust apparatuses. Conventional photo reduction catalyst fiber is a hybrid unit formed by embedding photo catalyst with titanium dioxide as the primary component into porous substrate like active carbon powder and then mixed on carrier like fiber. For this kind of air filter net having active carbon powder attached thereon, because the hybrid unit has active carbon powder, the content of photo catalyst is low. When in use, the active carbon quickly saturates to attenuate the effect of filtering air. The fiber used as carrier of the hybrid unit of photo catalyst and active carbon powder also easily moistens to expand and deform when used in air conditioners, air cleaners, and refrigerators. Moreover, it cannot be folded and has no function of filter net. Some other conventional air filter nets are made by mold ejection of plastic, wherein photo catalyst is mixed in plastic and then directly contained in the filter net during the procedure of mold ejection. This kind of air filter net is a plastic component, and cannot be folded. Because its gap is too large, it has no function of filter net. Moreover, because the contact area of photo catalyst with air is small, the effect is not good.